Complete Access
by Cyberbird
Summary: Several months have passed and the Autobots are still adjusting to life on Earth; which means Andi is busier than ever.  But when one of Andi's projects gets her in trouble, leaving her all alone, what's a girl to do?  Sequel to "Of Axles and Hackers"  OC
1. Chapter 1

**AN: And so I give you the first chapter of the sequel to "Of Axles and Hackers." You might want to read that first, if you haven't already. It's not necessary, but it's a better intro to my characters and the story thus far. Enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my OC's and the plot. **

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

Cold.

Cold hard concrete floor was the first thing Andrea Hammond became aware of as she slowly woke. Which was strange, because she was sure that her room did not have concrete floors and where else but there would she sleep?

Pain.

A dull persistent throb made itself known next: her head, back and shoulders. She moved slightly then stopped, for movement only served to worsen the pain ten-fold.

Bright light.

She was determined now, that if she couldn't move for the time being, she would at least open her eyes and see where she was. Blinking rapidly, she squinted as she opened first one eye, then the other. Wherever she was, it was lit with bright florescent ceiling lights; which flickered and hummed softly.

An office.

Now adjusted to the light, Andi was able to take stock of where exactly she was. Or at least, what kind of room she was in. It seemed to be an office. Or at least it was at some point or another. The room, covered in dust, held a desk, a chair, several empty book cases and opened filing cabinets, and two doors, one of which led out of the room and another which led to what Andi assumed was a bathroom.

A groan.

Knowing she needed to move, Andi slowly and carefully pushed herself up into a sitting position. She groaned as she used stiff and sore muscles to push herself up. Sitting up, she paused, allowing the room to stop spinning. She breathed a sigh of relief as the room came into focus once again, and the sharp pain in her head and shoulders dulled to a faint throb.

A dress.

Andi frowned in consternation then as her hand came into contact with the material of her now ripped and dirtied dark blue dress. It figures that the first time she wore a dress in years it would get ruined.

A chain.

It was as she was studying her now ruined dress that she finally took note of the added weight on her ankle. Frowning in confusion she shifted the layers of her dress out of the way and studied her left ankle. Her eyes widened in indignant disbelief. There, wrapped and locked tightly around her ankle was a thick steal link chain. Grabbing the chain with both hands, she attempted to first pull it off her ankle with no success before yanking on the chain to see what it was connected to. She found soon enough that the chain was locked and bolted down near the door. She wasn't going anywhere.

"What the hell? Where am I?"

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><p><strong>AN: Dun, dun, dun. And so it begins. This is just a preview of what is to come. I promise things will be explained all in good time. I can't promise, however, that the next chapter will be up for a while at least. Life has been crazy busy lately. I'll try and get out one chapter a week. Maybe a few oneshots in between to hold you over. So I can promise that this story will be finished! Just not in the next week or so. ^^<strong>

**Anyway, let me know what you think. I love hearing from you guys, it encourages me to write faster. Thanks!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters and the plot.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Starting Over<strong>

First there was a loud bang.

Then there was an enraged yell.

Followed closely by maniacal laughter and two giant red and yellow blurs.

This was the scene which Andi and Axle arrived to as they came to a stop at the Autobots temporary base; a secured section of Tranquility's warehouse district given to them by the government for the Autobot's personal use until a permanent residence could be completed. Of course, this scene had also become a regular occurrence over the past month, and no longer shocked or bothered Andi as it had at one point.

As long as the twin terrors steered clear of her, she could care less what kind of trouble they got into.

"Ah, the sounds of mayhem in the morning. Nothing better, ay, Axe?"

"I'm glad you think so. I'll be the one dealing with it later," he grumbled in return.

Andi patted her partner sympathetically on the leg, all the while smiling up at him. "Better you than me."

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><p>The space allotted to the Autobots was nothing special by any comparison, but it was most definitely secluded. Set as far away from surrounding warehouses as possible, the lot consisted of four large, renovated warehouses. Each large enough to house twenty or more of the large bots, and each supporting a different designation. One of the buildings acted as a rec room and mess hall. The second acted as a makeshift hospital on one side and a large reinforced laboratory on the other. The third building acted as housing for some of the bots and the last was designated as the training area and control center. This last building tended to see the most use at this point by bots and humans alike as it had been designated the meeting area.<p>

Surrounding the lot was a security fence, which had at one point been lined with barbed wire and was now watched 24/7 by armed guards. No one could enter without the proper clearance codes and ids. Andi had done some research on the lot after the government had initially given it to the Autobots and found that in the past, the warehouses had been used to hold munitions for the army. A surprising piece of information considering they lived in Tranquility, a place where until recently, nothing ever happened.

As of three months ago, however, the warehouses had become very busy, and had continued to be so throughout that time.

A lot had happened since the time of the 'Battle of the Cube,' as Andi referred to the day months ago when the Autobots and Decepticons battled it out in Mission City. The three months since that day had been filled with work, crowd control, work, new arrivals, work, and more work. For Andi, the most exciting of those had been the new arrivals.

Immediately following the 'Battle of the Cube,' Optimus Prime had sent a message out to any and all remaining Autobots throughout the universe, telling them that they should come to Earth, a place they were welcome, their new home.

Several weeks later, he received a reply.

It was Prowl, much to Axle's delight.

Optimus' second-in-command informed his leader that he and his team would be entering Earth's orbit within a week. The prospect of new arrivals thrilled the Autobots and put the humans on edge. What were they going to do with all those incoming giant robots? Hence the warehouses.

The day Prowl and his team arrived was one Andi wouldn't forget. She never would have compared Axle to an antsy child until that day. In the two months that they had been together, Andi had never seen her large friend quite so excited nor so nervous as he was that day.

The group of Autobots and humans had traveled some 50 miles out of Tranquility to a deserted chunk of land within the Nevada desert. Optimus led the group of onlookers, standing at the head of the pack and staring intently up at the sky. The other Autobots, minus Jazz, who was still being repaired, stood behind him. Axle had taken up his spot next to Ironhide.

Andi had noticed over time that the two bots were actually very close. Axle seemed to regard Ironhide as an older brother or uncle; and Ironhide got along better with the younger bot than Andi would have thought was possible. Originally the idea had made her shudder; the last thing she wanted was Axle to become trigger-happy. Now, however, she was used to the strange relationship the two bots had, and was happy that Axle had someone he could talk to when he needed it.

Andi and the rest of the humans stood back, allowing the bots the chance to greet their comrades first, before introductions would be made.

The odd group stood outside for half an hour before the first sign of arrival was detected: five streaks of flame and smoke far off into the distance. Andi watched, fascinated as the falling bots drew nearer. The last time she had witnessed the actual landing of an Autobot was the night Axle had arrived. At the time it had been dark, and she had been so terrified by the image of a flying ball of flame hurtling towards her that she had been unable to appreciate the event. It was fascinating to say the least. And also a tad terrifying. There was a moment when she thought they might actually land on the group. However, the five spheres instead continued onwards over the welcoming committee to land over some hills quite a few miles away.

Axle and the other bots looked accusingly at Optimus who shrugged his shoulders in apology.

"Sorry, my bad."

Andi rolled her eyes.

The group then waited another hour before Bumblebee sighted Prowl's group heading towards them; having decided to acquire their alternate forms before meeting with Optimus and the others. Leading the small fleet of vehicles was a black Nissan 350Z S-Tune GT, followed closely by a white and blue Nissan GT-R, two Lamborghini Murcielagos, one red the other yellow, and an ambulance. The group came to a stop in front of Optimus and transformed.

_What is with these bots? They claim to want to stay hidden, yet they pick the most extravagant alternate modes they can find. _Andi had been mildly disgusted.

While some of the new bots were quite large, none were quite as tall as Optimus, though the ambulance came close. The black bot came forward first and Optimus addressed him by name.

"Prowl, my friend, welcome! I am glad to see you well."

"Prime, the same to you."

While the two commanders exchanged pleasantries, the other bots greeted their fellow comrades. Ironhide and Ratchet moved forward and met with the ambulance, greeting him with smiles and firm handshakes. Andi pegged him as First Aid. Axle had told her about all of his team some time ago, now she was excited to be able to see them for herself.

Not far from the older bots, Bumblebee moved eagerly forward to meet the white and blue bot. The two met with a hug and then the white one proceeded to talk to Bee, waving his arms around as he gestured rapidly as he spoke. Andi smiled. Bluestreak. Axle had said that he was never one to shut up. Actually, now that she thought about it, Bee and Bluestreak were perfect friends for each other. Even when the little yellow bot could only speak using sound bites, he had been rather talkative. And after he regained his ability to use his voice capacitor, it surprised no one that he was even more talkative than before. She could tell, however, that the older bots fully welcomed anything Bee had to say, and were only too happy to listen. They had missed hearing their youngest member's voice.

She turned back to Axle then, in time to see him tackled by the red and yellow bots. The three then proceeded to wrestle for a moment, Axle trying to push the two slightly larger bots off of him with little success. Andi watched in bemusement as before long, the yellow and red bots had Axle in a headlock. She laughed slightly. The twins. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker. Sides and Sunny to their friends. They could be no others.

She watched as the three greeted each other, Axle still in a headlock.

"How ya been, buddy?" The red one, the one holding him in the headlock, asked. "We missed you."

"You always get to have all the fun," the yellow one added, punching him lightly on the shoulder.

"Get off!" Axle rumbled. "Sides, let go!" He managed to push the red one, Sideswipe, off of him, only to be engulfed in a round of handshakes and back pats. Andi was happy to see her large friend smiling. She had never seen him quite so happy.

The three spoke for several minutes, before they were joined by Bee and Bluestreak, who greeted Axle in much the same fashion as the twins had, minus the headlock. The group of five was then joined by the three older bots, Ratchet and Ironhide staying as far away from the twins as they possibly could.

Axle and First Aid greeted each other with a warm hug, after which the older bot held Axle by the shoulders as they spoke.

"Good to see you, son."

"You to, First Aid."

The group spoke for several more minutes when Axle told his teammates, "There's someone I want you to meet."

He turned towards the group of humans then, who had until that point been unacknowledged and walked towards them, kneeling in front of Andi. "Andi, will you come with me please?" He held out his hands to her. She nodded and moved forward, sitting in the palm of one of his hands as the other hand carefully wrapped around her waist, supporting her as he stood. He held her against his chest as he made his way back towards the bots. He stopped in front of First Aid.

"This is Andrea Hammond. I've been living with her since the night I landed and she has helped me a great deal. Andi, this is First Aid," The white bot smiled and nodded to her, and Andi did the same in response. "Bluestreak," The bot tipped an imaginary hat at her, "and the twins, Sunny and Sides."

She smiled at the lot of them. "It's nice to meet you all. Axle's told me a lot about you."

And so, the introductions continued. Optimus and Prowl soon joined them, and the rest of the humans were introduced. They spent another hour out in the middle of nowhere, before it was decided that it was time to leave and the now slightly larger caravan made its way back to Tranquility.

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><p>Andi yelped as she was suddenly scooped up in Axle's arms, seconds before a yellow blur stepped where she had previously been standing.<p>

"Hey! Watch it, will ya?" She shouted from her perch on Axle's arm. The bots paid her no heed, though.

"Hey, Axle!" The yellow blur shouted as it ran past.

"Hi, Andi!" Then the red.

"Welcome home!" They both shouted.

"Get back here, you slags!" They were followed closely by an even larger, enraged black bot. Andi and Axle waited until Ironhide had passed before attempting to continue forward and enter the control room warehouse, known simply as Control, where the other bots and humans were congregated.

Axle held onto her until they were a safe distance away from the activity behind them, before placing her back on the ground near a waiting Sam and Mikaela. He then joined his fellow bots, who greeted him warmly, First Aid patting him on the back as he took a seat next to the older bot.

"If any of you get damaged, I'm not repairing you this time!" Ratchet roared over to the three rampaging bots.

Andi shook her head in amusement before turning to her two younger friends. "Hello. Good morning," she greeted the couple with a smile.

"Hey, Andi," Mikaela returned.

"You're late," Sam continued.

Andi rolled her eyes. "Give me a break, Sam. We got home late last night and my parents wanted to talk this morning. Besides, what no, 'Hi, Andi! How are you? Did you have a good trip? We missed you.' Boy you sure know how to spread the love. Heck even the Twins have better manners than you. At least they said welcome back after almost stepping on me."

Sam stuck his tongue out at her and being the mature almost adult that she was, Andi returned the gesture.

"So, how was it?" The younger boy asked as he and Mikaela joined her as she continued to walk further into Control.

"Not bad," Andi shrugged. "Didn't have much time to enjoy D.C. though. It was mostly, in, work, and then out. The drive there and back took longer than the actual installation."

Following the events at Mission City, Andi had been hired by the government, specifically the SecDef, to create a bot-proof firewall for their computer systems, both military and otherwise. No one wanted a repeat of Frenzy's attacks and since the little menace had disappeared after the battle, the possibility of a repeat was extremely high. So with the permission of the Autobots to perform quite a few systems analyses on each of them and with their help understanding Frenzy's initial hack attempts, Andi had done just that. After much trial and error, she had created an unhackable firewall. Testing had consisted of each Autobot attempting to break through and after two months of endless work, she had finally achieved her goal.

Ten days ago, she and Axle had left Tranquility to drive to D.C. where she installed the firewall on the servers of the government's super computers and military defense systems. She spent one full day then teaching a limited number of tech specialists how to run and perform basic maintenance and then she and Axle had made the long trek home.

Andi had rolled into bed that night around 4 am, and would have given anything to sleep for at least 10 hours. Unfortunately, she had told Lennox the day before that she would be at the meeting the next day. So she rolled out of bed a mere 6 hours later and made herself presentable for the day.

From the moment she had walked into the back door of the main house from her room over the garage, her mother had talked to her non-stop for over an hour. What had been going to be a fifteen minute breakfast stop had turned into an hour and fifteen minute lecture. And even then, the only reason Andi had been able to leave when she did was because her dad had taken pity on her and distracted her mother with a question. She made a mental note to treat her dad to lunch at his favorite diner sometime soon.

Turning her attention to a grouping of tables and chairs set up several yards away near a host of human and bot sized computers, Andi started over. When it had first become clear that the warehouse would become the main meeting location for the Autobots and humans, provisions had been made for the humans. Some tables and chairs to work at had been the least of those provisions.

Currently, one of the tables was overrun by Glen and Maggie, who were sticking around Tranquility until they finished their current project, and their laptops. Surrounding the two, was a mountain of papers, which on occasion one or the other would dig through and write something on them. Andi had to refrain from laughing at the two, knowing that their current work was frustrating enough; they didn't need her to comment.

A second set of chairs was occupied by Major Will Lennox and Sergeant Bobby Epps. The two Rangers had been designated by the SecDef to head the army relations with the Autobots. Which was fine with all those involved. The Autobots liked the two humans who had played a large role in the fight against the Decepticons. Hell, even Ironhide liked them, enough in fact that for the time being he chose to live with Will and his family. Andi suspected that relationship was based largely on the two's love for munitions.

She greeted the four as she came near.

"You're late, girl!" Will responded, causing her to huff in annoyance and Sam and Mikaela to snicker behind her.

"Yeah, Major…Good to see you too."

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><p><strong>AN: There you have it. I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think. I love hearing from you! Till next time…<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: So sorry for the slightly longer wait. But what can I say it's Halloween! Yay! Enjoy this chapter of filler and a tiny bit of plot development! **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own characters and the plot. Don't sue please! Reviews are love and make me write faster!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Catching Up<strong>

When the bi-weekly status meetings between the humans and the Autobots had initially begun, it had quickly become apparent that the only way the humans would be able to participate in the conversations would be if they sat on one of the bots. An issue which was thankfully being addressed for the new base. Andi on the other hand had no problem, being used to perching on Axle, and made herself at home on either his leg or shoulder.

Today, she motioned for him to lift her up to his shoulder, and within seconds was quite comfortable resting her arm on his head for support. Mikaela and Sam made themselves comfortable on Bee's knees, and Will and Bobby perched on First Aid, seeing as their usual perch, Ironhide, had yet to take his seat.

Optimus waited until they were seated before speaking. "Now that we are all present, we can begin."

Andi cringed slightly, knowing the statement was directed towards her and Axle. "I'm sorry, Optimus, really I am. But one of these days, I'll introduce you to my mother, and then you'll understand."

"Do not worry, young one. I did not mean to pass blame. What I meant to say was welcome home." He gave the bot equivalent of a soft smile before turning to the three rampaging bots behind him. "Ironhide, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, we are ready to begin."

The three bots slowly came to a stop and made their way to the group. Ironhide was mumbling what Andi could only assume was Cybertronian obscenities under his breath as he took a seat next to Ratchet. While Sunny and Sides were still rumbling with laughter, calming only after they took their seats on Axles' right hand side. Andi hid a smile as she felt Axle heave a sigh under her, his exasperation with his two friends almost tangible.

Optimus began.

"What is the status update on the base?"

"Everything is on schedule," Will answered. "Construction for updating the pre-existing facilities began on time. If all goes accordingly, the main construction should finish in two months time. Then we can go in and start work on the technical aspects."

"Excellent."

Talk continued for some time about the technical aspects of the NEST base and jobs which needed to be finished before the construction was completed. Andi listened with one ear while she absentmindedly played with several of the wires extruding from Axle's neck and the metal plating around his face. She frowned when she noticed a small scratch on the side of his faceplate; that was new.

"What's this from?" she whispered to Axle.

"Hmm?" He was obviously paying more attention to the meeting than she was.

"This scratch."

"Huh? Oh, uh, the twins…I think. It's nothing, don't worry about it."

"Mmm." Andi smiled and refocused her attention on the meeting. The twins were always ganging up on Axle, it was no surprise that he received some damage in the process.

Optimus was speaking once again. "I received a communication two days ago from Perceptor. He, Wheeljack, Arcee and Hoist are all in route and should arrive on Earth in approximately 4 months."

This news garnered varied reactions from the group. All of the bots were excited. The teens were happy for their friends, but the military men groaned slightly, recognizing the potential increase in their workload.

The twins laughed. "Wheeljack, huh? I don't think Earth is ready for him," Sides chuckled.

Andi glanced down at Axle. "Who's Wheeljack? Why aren't we ready for him?"

He turned his head to look at her. "Wheeljack is one of our scientists. Unfortunately, his inventions have a tendency to…not work…at first anyway."

Ironhide snorted. "'Not work' my aft." Andi grinned, she had heard Will use that turn of phrase plenty in the months since they had met; he was rubbing off on Ironhide. "What he means is that they have a tendency to blow up…every single one of them."

Sam grinned. "Sounds like fun."

Optimus interrupted before anyone else could. "Wheeljack will be provided with his own laboratory once the base is complete, until that time, I will inform him he is to refrain from experimenting." His reassurance seemed to calm the masses if only slightly. "Once they arrive, I will speak to Wheeljack and Perceptor about assisting your government's scientists with their work on the energon detectors."

That drew Andi's attention more than anything said yet. The decision to create energon detectors as a form of warning system against the Decepticons had been one of the first agreements the Autobots and the Military bigwigs had made. Right along with Andi's bot-proof firewall. Had she not been so busy with the firewall and helping Ratchet and First Aid repair Jazz she would have loved to have been a part of that project.

"Has there been any progress made on the plans for the detectors?" Andi asked, curious to see if she had missed anything worthwhile while she was away.

Prowl answered her. "Nothing substantial. The biggest issue we are facing is coming up with alternate Earth technology to take the place of our Cybertronian tech. Especially as there is now talk of making the detectors portable for military personnel to carry on their person during any future missions. Our previous detectors were all large and bulky by OUR standards; they'd be immense by yours."

Andi nodded in understanding and fell silent again. As much as she would love to offer her help on this project she realized that at this stage it fell slightly outside of her expertise. Computers, mathmatics and other forms of tech were her babies. Chemistry and physics on the other hand, not so much.

Optimus continued with the meeting.

"Andrea, Axle, I'm assuming since I wasn't told otherwise that your trip was successful."

Axle nodded in affirmation. "Yes, Prime. We encountered no problems."

"Excellent. The firewall was met with approval?"

"Wholeheartedly," Andi confirmed. "Everyone who was present for Frenzy's initial attack was ecstatic. The governments cyber division has been running on red alert for months now; watching and wondering if they were going to see another attempt by the little devil. When I first arrived at the hub holding the servers and hardlines, they literally had soldiers posted waiting for the order to sever the lines in case of an attack. Installation took no time at all and went without a single glitch. The rest of my time was spent teaching a select few the ins and outs of the programing and maintenance. I'd like to go back in a few months and perform a diagnostic myself, just to check on everything but I'll talk to Secretary Keller about that later.'

"While I was there, I was informed by Keller that there has been some major recruiting going on by the Defense Department for cyber and technology specialists. Which is legal jargon for hackers." Several eyebrows/plates rose at this as she continued. "Apparently they are creating a think tank of sorts who will take the firewall I built, study it, and continuously update and improve it. Which is excellent and what I would have had to do on my own before this new development. Now I can focus on running Control's systems and later the base's."

"Why'd he let you in on that?" Epps broke in.

"He wants me to go over the list of possible members and add or subtract from it as I see fit. You too Glen," she shouted over her shoulder quickly to the duo at the table. He raised his hand in acknowledgment while never lifting his gaze from the papers in front of him. "The hacking community as it were is based on a type of anarchical form of self-government. There is no set list of rules. There are however a set of morals if you will that true hackers follow. One of those morals is that a true hacker will cause no harm to others. We explore and create programs, not destroy them. The people who crack into systems and plant viruses are not true hackers, they're crackers. Some of them have the skill, but are not the right kind of person the SecDef wants working on this project. Just because I know how to create a virus that could wipe out an entire server of computers in a matter of seconds does not mean that I should do it.'

"So Glen and I are going to be going over the list of names and handles Secretary Keller gave me and check it to make sure there isn't anyone on here that shouldn't be and add any names we think they should get into contact with."

"Handles?" Sam asked.

"Code names, LadiesMan217." Andi smirked as Mikaela giggled and Sam blushed. "Every hacker has one. It's actually really rare that you ever lean the name of another Hacker. Glen and I met by chance a few years ago. Before then I had only ever known him by his handle."

"What's yours?"

"Access10," she answered truthfully. There was no reason to deny her identifier now that she was working for the very people who once had it out for her.

"What's it stand for?"

"Wouldn't you like to know, LadiesMan." Andi grinned again as Sam scowled over at her. He opened his mouth to retort but was interceded.

"Guys, focus." Will broke up the sure to ensue argument before it could begin.

"Right, sorry. So all in all, everything seems to be in order and as soon as we can get this list back to Secretary Keller we'll have even more help headed our way."

Optimus nodded in agreement. "Excellent. Very good work, you two."

Andi felt Axle sit just a little bit straighter as he basked in a job well done being acknowledged by his superior. She smiled at him softly. Axle took all of his jobs and assignments very seriously and strove for perfection. His leader's acknowledgement of a job well done meant more to him than it would to others. He was a people pleaser through and through. Or bot pleaser as it were.

The meeting was finally coming to a close and Andi couldn't have been more grateful. Her left cheek had started to go numb several minutes ago. And not the one on her face.

"If there is nothing else, we are finished here," Optimus began.

"One thing, Optimus," Ratchet spoke for the first time since the meeting began. "First Aid and I have nearly finished our work on Jazz. I estimate only another few hours before we will be ready to attempt awakening him." This news brought an excited buzz to those present.

"That is wonderful news, my friend." Optimus replied.

Andi was shocked and elated. "Already?" she exclaimed. "You told me two weeks before Axle and I left."

Ratchet shrugged. "My estimations were off slightly. We will need you to run the diagnostics on the Shard and then operate the power circuits for it."

"Of course. Like I'd let anyone else run my diagnostics." She responded enthusiastically.

"Good. Then we will leave you all now and get back to work. There is much to be done. Prime, I will send for you when we are ready." With that Ratchet and First Aid stood and began walking away.

Andi grinned excitedly and jumped down off of Axle's shoulder, stumbling slightly on the landing before jogging to catch up to the two bots heading out of Control and towards the medical hanger.

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><p><strong>AN: And thus this author has BSed her way through more hacking technicalities. Please don't try and correct any mistakes that may appear in Andi's explanation of the hacker lifestyle. I am perfectly aware that much of it is wrongmade up. However, for things to work the way I need/want them to this is how it's going to be. It's fanfiction, and in this story, I am goddess supreme. Thanks. Ta da! Filler! Woot! Until next time…Reviewers will be given Halloween cookies. ^^ Happy Halloween everyone!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: I'm excited to get this chapter out! Yay! Plot development! Enjoy and let me know what you think. Oh, and I have no idea where the title of this chapter came from. Apparently I'm hungry for cereal. ^^;**

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><p><strong>Chapter 3: Snap, Crackle, Pop<strong>

They were essentially jump-starting Jazz. Using the remaining piece of the Allspark as the charge, they hoped to successfully transfer enough energy into Jazz to give his own Spark a needed boost and wake him from the seeming coma he had been in for the last three months. They were focusing the energy through a specially made control unit housing the Shard and a series of heavy wires attached to Jazz; so that no one would have to be in direct contact with the Shard itself while powered.

Ratchet saw this as the best option considering what had happened to Megatron when the Allspark was placed directly against his Spark. The last thing anyone wanted was to fry Jazz completely.

The Shard itself was housed in a carefully created containment unit. For fear of possible accidents, no one but Optimus had been allowed to handle the remaining piece of the Allspark directly. The Shard was clasped in three rubber coated claws which prevented it from turning its pedestal and power controls into a new baby bot. The control unit Andi now stood at was basically a complex on/off switch for the Shard. It also allowed her to run diagnostics on it and monitor its energy output.

True to his word, Ratchet and First Aid had made the final repairs to Jazz in no more than two hours. While they worked, Andi ran a diagnostic on the Shard's power output and ran a series of tests on the control unit. Word was sent to Optimus and the others and soon the three in the lab were joined by Lennox, Epps and all the resident bots except for Bumblebee who had reluctantly taken Sam and Mikaela home at Sam's father's demand.

Andi finished with her adjustments and looked up to where Ratchet and First Aid were attaching the final wires to Jazz.

"Ready when you are, Ratchet. All systems go."

She waited patiently until Ratchet turned to her and nodded.

"On my mark, Andrea. Hold the charge for a count of ten and then release. If that doesn't work, we will try a second charge for a count of twenty. "

"Got it."

Ratchet turned back to Jazz and Andi's fingers tensed over the lever that would power the Spark.

"3,2,1, Mark!" Pushing up on the lever, Andi watched as the Allspark shard instantly burst to life. The Cybertronian lettering glowed white hot and the energy pulsed from the shard, through the wires and into Jazz's own spark casing. She began her count aloud to give a reference to all those present.

"10, 9, 8…" The power flowed rapidly through the wires. The Shard growing brighter every second it remained in use. "7,6,5…" Looking up at Jazz, she tensed with anticipation hoping and praying for some sign of life. Nothing happened, but the Spark continued to shine brighter and brighter. Andi could practically feel the power radiating from it. "4,3…" The Shard began to vibrate rapidly in it's stand. An unsettling feeling began gripping at her heart. Was that supposed to happen? "2…" The sudden urge to power down the Shard over took her. "1…" A commotion from the table drew her attention and she darted a glance in time to see Jazz's form give a tremendous jolt, his back arching from the table. "0!"

"Off! Power down!" Ratchet yelled.

Not needing to be told twice, Andi slammed the lever down to the off position…only to find that the shard did not immediately calm like it should have but continued to glow and vibrate violently.

"Turn it off Andrea!"

"I did!" Her fingers raced over the control panel as she attempted to override the power grid and force the shard into dormancy. In front of her she was vaguely aware of Ratchet and First Aid forcefully disconnecting the wires from Jazz's Spark casing. "Someone cut the power cables!" She shouted to the group of observing humans and bots to her right. Lennox and Epps jumped into action, yanking cables from the power sources in the walls. But even then, the Shard remained active. An ominous hum began to emit from the shard, steadily growing louder with every passing second. Andi continued to work furiously, typing every command she knew to override the power to the shard with little success. It wasn't going to work. She needed help! "Ratchet!" The hum had turned into a scream.

It happened in the matter of a moment. The shard, glowing white hot, released a sudden and unexpected burst of energy through the rubber coated claws holding it and the controls Andi's hands were currently resting on. The energy raced up her arms and hit her torso with such force that she was sent hurtling back into the wall behind her which she hit with a sickening thud. Her back and head bouncing painfully on the concrete.

The world seemed to slow in that instant. Her vision blurry, she could see Ratchet and First Aid had turned towards her and were seemingly taking the first steps to race to her aid. She could hear her own heart thumping in her ears, and muffled yells were coming from several different locations around her. Immediately following her meeting with the unforgiving wall, she stumbled forward slightly to her feet which would not or perhaps could not hold her weight. She fell to her knees and then forward, catching herself briefly with her arms until they too gave out. She lay sprawled on the floor as her vision slowly darkened and her eyes slid shut. Before she gave in completely to the darkness, one tormented voice calling her name reached her above the rest…Axle.

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><p>Logically, Andrea knew that what she was currently seeing happening in front of her could not actually be happening. For one, she was sure that not moments ago, she was standing in Ratchet's lab helping to revive Jazz. For another thing, she was also beyond positive that the bustling world in front of her had been all but destroyed long before she was even an idea in the grand scheme of human existence.<p>

Cybertron had been destroyed eons ago by it's own inhabitants, locked in a never ending civil war. How she knew this magnificent world was Cybertron was unknown to Andrea, but something told her that she was right. The metallic world she was currently standing on was Cybertron, no questions asked.

Which brought up a whole other problem…How the hell did she get on Cybertron?

The world before her was metallic as far as the eye could see. With giant, intricate structures; large enough to hold the massive bots scattered throughout her surrounding area. There were towers looming in the distance, so big that Andi was sure you'd be able to see them from space. Not a single organic plant could be found. Everything was metal.

Something was off though. Whenever Andi pictured Cybertron or when Optimus had shown the teens a hologram of it, it was always overcome by war. Bot fighting bot. Flames and explosions everywhere you looked. This Cybertron, however, was calm and peaceful. There was no fighting. All the bots around her were working together in peace.

And speaking of bots, there were so many! She counted thirty in her immediate area alone. They came in every shape and size imaginable. Some were smaller than Jazz, while a few others were nearly as tall if not taller than Optimus. Their forms were reminiscent of Axle's own the night he had fallen to Earth some months ago; made of shiny metal, gears and wires. Some of the figures around had large wings protruding from their backs and shoulders. She shuddered slightly as she was reminded of Megatron himself. _Seekers_, the foreign word came to mind immediately. The flying bots were known as Seekers. Andi didn't know how she knew that, but she did.

A sudden commotion above her caused Andi to look up quickly. She was met with the sight of two transformed Seekers zooming overhead in an impromptu game of cat and mouse. The jets raced around the nearby buildings, performing a series of stunts with practiced ease. Every few seconds or so one or the other of the two would steal the lead and the other would take off after them. Two names popped into Andi's head than as if whispered in her ear. _Swoop. Divebomb_. Friendly competitors now; in the future, bitter enemies. One a Dinobot the other a Predacon. Once the Transformer's civil war begins these two will face each other in battle multiple times as an Autobot and a Decepticon. Battles that will eventually lead to both of their destruction.

The unexpected knowledge caused Andi to stumble back in surprise. What was happening? How could she possibly know that? Glancing at the bots surrounding her once again more names immediately came to mind. _Blurr. Hot Rod. Skywarp. Thunderwing. Grapple. Lockdown. Dropkick. Cliffjumper_ and more. Autobots and Decepticons working together in harmony. This was a time before those two factions even had names. The knowledge came to Andi so quickly and so unexpectedly that she fell to her knees in shock. She slammed her eyes shut and covered her ears with her hands hoping to stop the surge of information that was being whispered to her from seemingly nowhere.

"Stop," She whispered. She clutched her head tighter. It did nothing. Names of bots and places, dates and events flashed inside her mind. The entire Cybertronian history of this period of peace came to her in a matter of moments. Any other time and Andi would have been thrilled at this knowledge. But at this moment it was too unexpected and far too much to process without warning. She struggled to retain it all.

"Stop!" She cried a little louder. It continued.

"STOP!"

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Dun, dun, dun! OMG! What's happening? ^^ Guess you'll have to wait and see. Hehehe. Hope you enjoyed. Reviews are love and inspire me greatly! Cookies will be had. <strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Oh my! I am beyond sorry for the delayed update! So sorry! I have been out of town and without internet for nearly two weeks and two days after I returned it was Thanksgiving and family get togethers and a birthday party, and craziness. So I apologize and will do my damnedest to not let this much time pass between updates again. That being said, enjoy a slightly longer than usual post. Mostly due to the insane amount of dialogue witch takes place. Some questions will be answered, some not so much, and some more will pop up. ^^ Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Oops, forgot one of these last time. Ahem, I own nothing but the plot, Andi and Axle…so there!**

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><p><strong>Chapter 4: Rude Awakenings <strong>

"Stop!" Andi shot up into a sitting position with a shout, her breathing heavy. The images of Cybertron faded away and she found herself in the base's med bay, resting on one of the human sized hospital beds. The panic and fear which had gripped her in her dream clung to her in waking and when a human hand grabbed her shoulder to steady her she yelped in surprise and swung her arm out to defend herself.

"Whoa!" Her arm was caught mid-swing by Will and held gently. "Hey there, calm down. You're alright."

The familiar voice drew Andi completely out of the dream and calmed her all at once. "Will?" She turned to her right and found the Major standing next to her bed.

"Yeah, kid. You alright?" He released her arm and waited until she relaxed back on the bed before sitting himself.

"I'm fine." She took a moment to take stock of her location and physical health. Fine might not have been the proper word to use. She had a splitting headache and her back ached fiercely. Not the nicest way to wake up, but on the other hand at least she was alive. "What time is it? How long was I out?"

"You've been out for hours. It's almost 8 O'clock."

"At night? Oh jeez. I've got to get home." She started to push herself up off the bed, attempting to stand. She wavered slightly, the room spinning from her sudden movements. Will grabbed her arms and steadied her as well as preventing her from standing completely.

"Whoa! Hold on there, kiddo. You're not going anywhere until Ratchet and First Aid give the ok."

"I feel fine! Just a little sore and dizzy."

"All the more reason for them to check you out. You could have a concussion or worse."

"Please, Will, I really just want to go home and get to bed." And take a couple dozen pain killers.

"As soon as they say it's alright. Stop being so stubborn!" He chided her exasperatedly.

Andi sighed in resignation. "Fine." She settled back in bed once again.

"Good." Lennox rearranged her covers and then turned away. "Stay put. I'll go let them know you're up." A thought occurred to her then and Andi stopped him before he got too far.

"Will?"

"Hmm?" He paused and turned back to her.

"Could you ask Axle to come here? I remember hearing him before I passed out."

He chuckled. "Yeah, no problem. He's been driving Ironhide crazy worrying about you. Prowl finally decided that he needed to work on his meditation technique. They've been at it for hours but Axle keeps fidgeting."

Andi grinned at the idea. "He's such a worrywart. Thanks, Will."

* * *

><p>Lennox entered Control and headed toward the training mats where the Autobots were congregating with several of his men. After stopping and letting Ratchet and First Aid know Andi was awake he had made his way out of the med lab to find Andi's partner. The young bot was still where he left him, mirroring Prowl's cross legged position attempting to meditate with his commander. It wasn't working. One of Axle's knees was bouncing and Will could have sworn he saw Prowl's eyebrow twitch in annoyance.<p>

Bobby noticed his arrival before anyone else. "Yo, man! How's it going?"

The sudden shout pulled Axle's attention to him and he was on his feet headed toward Will in a matter of seconds.

"Is it Andrea? Is she awake? Is she alright?"

It took everything he had not to laugh at the poor bot. Axle was only worried about the girl. Though the thought that Axle was ten times more worried than anyone else popped into his mind briefly. Something to ponder at a later time.

"Yes, Axle. Andi's awake and lucid. Ratchet and First Aid are checking her over now. Go ahead, she asked for you." That was all that Axle needed to hear and he was off like a shot.

Prowl picked himself up off the mat with a sigh. "Thank Primus."

"You were worried?" Will asked the usually stoic bot.

"Of course I was concerned for young Andrea's health. But mostly I was concerned that I would need to knock him unconscious to get him to stop moving." He turned to take a seat next to Ironhide and Optimus who rumbled with laughter.

* * *

><p>"How are you feeling, Andi?" Ratchet asked as he immediately set to work scanning her and checking her vitals.<p>

"I've been better. A little dizzy and my back hurts something fierce. Mostly I'm just tired. I'd kill for a good night's sleep right about now."

"Now, now, my dear. There is no need to resort to violence," First Aid chided as he came up on her other side.

She couldn't help but giggle. "I didn't mean literally. Don't worry First Aid, I'm the last person here you need to worry about resorting to violence." She flinched away when Ratchet shown a bright light in her eyes without warning. "Ouch! Jeez Ratchet! Warn a girl won't you?"

"Hold still and don't blink. I need to make sure you do not have a concussion."

Andi obeyed. When Ratchet told you to do something in his doctor's voice, you did it. "So what happened anyway? I mean I remember what happened, Jazz waking up and everything but…Oh my god! I forgot! Jazz! Is he ok? How is he? Were there any side effects?"

"Calm down, Andrea. Jazz is fine. The transfer worked. He's in a regen cycle right now, regaining his strength. He'll be up and about by tomorrow." First Aid reassured her.

"Oh thank god!," She sighed in relief. "That's great! But again, what happened? Why wouldn't the Shard power down? It didn't react that way during any of our previous tests."

"We think that it was in part caused by the connection with another living spark. Once the connection to Jazz's spark was made it began drawing the power it needed to revive Jazz from the Shard. Which in turn caused the Shard to produce more power than it had previously in any of our tests. The control unit was unable to handle that level of power and it caused a short in the power controls. Once we disengaged the wires from Jazz's spark casing the excess energy needed somewhere to go and that just so happened to be through the unit and in turn through you." Ratchet explained as he finished up his examination.

"Damn. So it was a fluke? The Shard didn't decide to go haywire on us for some other reason?"

"As far as we can tell," Ratchet replied.

"Immediately following your rather abrupt meeting with the wall, the Shard powered down and returned to its dormant state." First Aid continued as he handed Ratchet a data tablet Andi recognized as one he stored the health files of everyone on base, bot and human alike.

"Huh. So it was all a bad case of me being in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

"Apparently." Ratchet mumbled as he scanned the information in the tablet and compared it to his newest set of data.

"Well that's…anti-climactic." She was more put out than anything. All that drama over a freak accident? Then again, it didn't explain that completely too vivid dream she just experienced. Ratchet seemed to be finished with his tests and Andi went to ask him the prognosis. "So…"

"Andrea!" Axle appeared and knelt next to her bed in a highly flustered whirlwind. Raising one hand he very carefully used a finger to smooth her messy hair behind her ear, gently caressing her check he did so. "Are you alright, Andrea? I was worried."

Feeling the fear and concern rolling off of him in waves, Andi smiled softly and turned her face to nuzzle his hand in comfort. "I'm ok, Axle. I'm sorry for scaring you. It was certainly not my intention." She took his hand in both of hers and held it so it rested on her lap. "You're just in time to hear the prognosis." She turned to Ratchet. "Well, Doc? What's the damage?"

"You were lucky. Minor concussion and some bad bruising on your back. No broken bones and no cranial hemorrhaging."

"Only a minor concussion? Lennox said I was unconscious for hours."

"I do not believe it was an impact to your head that caused you to faint, but the shock to your body from the Shards energy. Preliminary analysis shows no negative effects from the energy, but I would like to perform several more detailed tests to be sure."

Andi groaned. "There's no way that these tests can wait until tomorrow can they? I'd really love to be able to go home and get some more sleep. I'm beat."

Ratchet hesitated, "Well…"

"Please Ratchet? I promise to contact you if I feel any worse. I just want to go home and get some sleep in my own bed."

"Andi, maybe it would be best to stay here for the night," Axle interrupted. "That way Ratchet and First Aid will be nearby if you need them."

"C'mon, Axe. These beds are horrible. I won't be getting any sleep here. My nice comfy bed is calling. Please Ratchet? Pretty please?"

The older mech moaned in frustration and finally caved. "Fine! You may return home to rest. But you will return first thing in the morning for some further tests and if you feel any worse you are to return immediately. Understood?"

Andi grinned. "Great!" She went to stand then, taking her time to avoid another dizzy spell. "C'mon Axle. Let's get out of here." The young bot supported Andi as she stood before reluctantly transforming and opening his driver's side door for her to enter. She thanked the two medic bots and waved goodbye before taking her seat and soon the duo were on their way home.

* * *

><p>It was nearing 10 o'clock by the time Andi and Axle pulled into the driveway of her parent's house. Most of the lights were off in the house so Andi knew her parents must have settled in for the night. Axle entered the garage and waited for the garage door to shut completely before he opened his driver's door for Andi to exit. She did slowly, wincing in pain as her back tweaked in protest to the movement.<p>

"I'm gonna go shower and then crash. I'll see you in the morning, Axle." She turned to take the stairs up to her room, but paused when Axle called to her.

"I'm here if you need me, Andi."

She smiled softly at him. "I know, Axe. You always are. Thank you."

"No need for thanks. I am here because I want to be. Get some rest. You've had a long day."

"You can say that again. Goodnight, big guy."

"Goodnight, Andrea."

* * *

><p>Following a nice hot shower, Andi pulled on her black boy short undies and tank top, popped a couple of pain pills, and collapsed into her infinitely-more-comfortable-than-the-base's bed. She was asleep within seconds of her head touching the pillow.<p>

She knew the moment she opened her eyes that she was dreaming. How did she know this? She was currently floating in space. Literally hovering high above a grouping of twelve planets.

"Not again," she grumbled in annoyance.

She studies the planets below her for a moment and determines quickly that she does not recognize any of them from her science classes. _So, another galaxy then._ She thought as she continued to study the scene below. Nothing seemed to be happening.

_Alright, so what's the point of this? Seems a waste to show me a whole whopping bunch of nothing. _She was beyond annoyed that she was being deprived of her restful slumber.

Her answer came in the form of the planet directly below her exploding violently without warning. She cried out in surprise and instinctively covered her head with her arms for protection. That explosion was followed nearly immediately by the destruction of a second planet. Andi curled in on herself waiting for the onslaught of debris that never came. Realizing she was unharmed, Andi slowly unfurled herself and gazed around at the destruction and the remaining planets. What in heaven and hell could have decimated those planets so quickly?

Again she did not have to wait long for the answer. From behind one of the larger planets a figure appeared. It was missive; as big if not bigger than the surrounding planets. And it was metallic. A transformer, she realized in horror. _Unicron_. A voice, the same she heard in her first dream of Cybertron, whispered in her ear.

The scene below her continued to play out at increasing speeds as she was once again bombarded with an influx of information about the being before her. _Bringer of Chaos_. She watched transfixed as Unicron proceeded to destroy all of the remaining planets before her and then continued on to the next galaxy and then the next. Destroying everything he encountered until there was nothing. No planets, no moons, no asteroids, no stars. Just blank nothingness. Andi was alone then with the terrifying figure before her. She felt a tear slide down her cheek at the helplessness she felt at that moment and wiped it away. Despite knowing what was to come, she could not fight the emotion leaking through.

Time continued moving at an accelerated rate, and Andi watched as Unicron went into a deep sleep during which the universe slowly began to reform itself from the ashes around him. Before long the new universe was formed and Unicron woke once again and went straight to work destroying what was rebuilt. But this time, the universe fought back and in order to protect itself, created a guardian to fight Unicron on its behalf. _Primus_. The name rang through Andi's mind like a sweet chorus of bells. _Lord of Light and Order_. The knowledge that she had just witnessed the birth of the Cybertronians' god caused her to be overwhelmed once again with emotion and several tears slipped past her guard.

She continued to watch as the two god-like beings fought in a seemingly endless battle. Neither being seemed able to grasp the upper hand. The fighting continued for some time moving from the physical plane to the astral plane and back again. Only this time, when the two gods reappeared, they appeared in the form of two metallic asteroids. There the two beings remained as they were for some time until Unicron was able to first change his asteroid to a metallic planet and then later a new robotic form. Primus followed suit and formed a planet for himself.

_Cybertron_.

But instead of taking robotic form as Unicron did, Primus made the choice to create new life to assist in defending the universe against Unicron. It was then that Andi was witness to the creation of the first Transformers, defenders of the universe. The sight was breath taking and humbling all at once.

It was in that moment that Andi felt the pull of wakefulness begin to take her. But this time, she didn't want to go. She wanted to see more! She struggled to hold onto the information and images she was seeing. But the pull was too strong and soon the world went black.

* * *

><p>"No!" The strangled cry left her lips as Andi once again found herself shooting up in bed. Muffling a sob in her hands she struggled to even out her breathing. She took in gasping breathes as she focused on keeping the noise level down. She didn't want to wake Axle. She waited several minutes, but still her breathing was slow to calm and her mind would not stop racing with the images and influx of information she had just been subjected to. She looked to her bedside lamp and groaned at the time. 2:07 A.M. She had only been asleep for several hours, not nearly long enough. There was no way she would be getting back to sleep anytime soon. She was beyond wired. Her mind wouldn't shut up and when she looked down at her clenched fists, she could literally see them trembling.<p>

That's it! This wasn't going to work. She needed to talk to Ratchet. There was no way she could handle any more of these flashbacks. They were too much. She should have never left the base to begin with. Without bothering to stop and dress, Andi wrapped herself in the blanket from her bed and made her way barefoot down into the lower level of the garage.

"Andi, what's wrong? Are you alright?" Axle was awake and waiting, as if he knew she was coming. Of course, she wouldn't put it past him to have been awake and monitoring her breathing and heart rate while she slept.

"I'm ok, Axle. Really. I'm just…I need…No. No, that's not true. I need to talk to Ratchet. Now. Can you take me there please?"

There was a pause then and Andi knew that Axle was debating with himself whether he should press her for information or not. She hoped he wouldn't. She didn't know how to explain what was happening. Hell she didn't even understand it herself. Finally he seemed to come to a decision and without another word opened his passenger side door for her. She climbed in and made herself comfortable, snuggling into the seat wrapped in her favorite blanket, her feet curled under her. Axle closed his door for her and buckled her seat belt keeping it loose enough that she would still be comfortable but safe. Noticing her shivering he started his heaters for her before he made his way out of the garage and into the night.

"Thank you," she whispered and then settled in for the ride.

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><p><strong>AN: Dun, Dun, Dun. Just what is going on with Andi? The world may never know. Hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you thought. Your comments make me write faster. ^_-<strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Not up as quick as I'd like but not as long as last time. ^^; I'll try and do better in the future. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed last time! That was the most reviews I've ever gotten for one chapter. Thank you! Hope the length of this one makes up a bit for the tardiness. Enjoy and let me know what you think! ^^**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Andi, Axle and the plot of this story. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 5: Doctor's Orders<strong>

4 a.m. found Andi once again curled up in her underwear and tank top on one of the med-bays extremely uncomfortable human sized beds while Ratchet and First Aid hovered overhead. Her arrival to the base an hour ago was greeted with surprise and concern, and upon explanation of why she returned, irritation from Ratchet. Apparently she was an irresponsible and foolish child. A fact he was still voicing, quite loudly.

"You should never have left in the first place!" He grumbled as he ran a scanner over her from head to toe. "You should have mentioned the dreams the moment you awoke! Not now, nearly seven hours later!"

"It was a dream, Ratchet! How was I supposed to know it meant anything?"

"That's exactly my point, Andrea! You didn't know, so you should have asked. What if it was an indication of something more? Hmm? Which obviously it was since you had a second one. Normally your intelligence runs slightly above many of the humans on this planet, but as of right now, you are nothing but a stubborn immature little girl."

"Hey! There's no need to get nasty. I made a mistake, but at least I came back! I could have continued ignoring it. I could have gone on living day to day without telling anyone." Andi prided herself on the fact that Ratchet had trusted her and her intelligence enough in the past few months to allow her to help revive Jazz. Him downgrading her standing rubbed her in all the wrong ways. And now with him lecturing her she really did feel like a little girl again in trouble for breaking the rules.

"Hold still," he ordered suddenly.

She flinched as he stuck her arm to draw some blood without another word. He had long since modified one of the needles in his hand to be suitable for use with the humans he now lived with and treated occasionally. Normally his touch was surprisingly soft for a giant robot. His ire at her at the moment seemed to override his desire to be gentle.

"Ouch!" She scowled up at him as he walked away to place the sample in one of his many diagnostic machines. "That was uncalled for," she grumbled.

"You'll have to excuse him," First Aid smiled gently at her. "Surprises and mysteries annoy him greatly." It was the first time First Aid had spoken directly to her since she arrived.

"I don't mean to annoy him, honest. It's not like I went and got zapped by the Shard on purpose. I wasn't standing there and thinking, 'Gee I hope this thing overloads and gives me a good blast that will turn my dreams into Technicolor 3D movies'."

The older bot laughed at her. "I know, little one. He does too. He just doesn't know what the Shard has done to you and that bothers him. But don't fret, we will figure this out."

"I can hear you," Ratchet glared over his shoulder at the two as he waited for a readout from the machine in front of him. He turned back when it beeped softly at him and Andi stole the opportunity to stick her tongue out at his back. Well, she never claimed to be above using the occasional childish antic.

She gave him a moment to read over his findings. "So, what's the verdict, Doc?"

"Inconclusive."

She huffed irritably. "Fantastic. Now what?"

"Back to work."

"It's going to be a long night isn't it? Alright, have at me."

* * *

><p>In the rec room, Axle took refuge with the Sunny and Sides, waiting anxiously for a report of any kind on Andi's condition. The Twins had been sparring when he first entered Control, an activity they often participated in at night. Upon seeing him they paused their match, opting to keep their friend company instead. Now the three were slouched on one of the Bot sized couches in the Rec room in front of a large television which was currently playing late night infomercials. Axle could not for the life of him figure out the humans' delight over an object being called the "sham-wow!". It looked an awful lot like a towel.<p>

"So what's the deal, Axle? Why'd Andi need to see Ratchet?" Sunstreaker broke the silence.

"I don't know. She wouldn't tell me. She had some kind of nightmare and woke up distressed. I asked her if she was alright and she said no. Then asked to come here."

"Wonder if it has to do with the accident yesterday?" Sideswipe questioned.

"Of course it has to do with the accident, you slag head." His brother smacked him over the head. "Why else would she come here?"

"Watch it, Sunny!" Sideswipe pushed his brother away. "What are you doing over here anyway, Axle? I'm surprised you're not hovering over Andi."

"I do not hover," Axle grumbled as his two friends laughed at him.

"Please, the girl can hardly sneeze without you having a panic attack." Sides dodged a swipe from Axle, laughing as he hid behind his brother.

Sunstreaker turned to his brother and puffed his chest out. "Oh Andi, are you sick?" He attempted to impersonate Axle. "Do you need to go to the doctor? Do you need surgery? A blood transfusion? I can't donate but I'll find someone who can and make them for you."

Sides snickered and adopted a high pitch feminine voice. "Oh Axle!" He swooned into his brother. "You're so considerate and manly! How would I ever live without you?"

Axle felt his faceplates heat up as the Twins continued. By the time they were making kissing noises at each other he had had enough and lunged at the two of them, knocking them off the couch and into a pile of mechs. The three wrestled for several minutes.

"Cut it out, you two!" Axle realized his mistake moments after he made it as Sunny and Sides ganged up on him and soon he found himself in a headlock.

"C'mon buddy!" Sides laughed as he helped his brother restrain Axle. "There's no use denying it. We all see it everyday."

"There's nothing to see!" Axle grumbled as he struggled.

"Oh please," Sunny responded. "You two are almost as bad as Sam and Mikaela, and they regularly make out on Bee's hood."

"We are not! There's nothing going on between Andi and I! She's my friend and my partner. It's my job to look out for her. Now get off!" He finally managed to extricate himself from the two bigger bots.

"Primus you're an idiot! Andi's a nice femme, and she's put up with you for all this time. What's the problem?"

"There's no problem," Axle mumbled. "It's not like that. We're not…she doesn't…I mean we…"

Sideswipe snorted. "What? You're different species? Please, don't kid yourself. That's a stupid reason not to try and you know it. It doesn't bother you and we know it doesn't bother her. Are you worried she doesn't feel the same? Also stupid. If the two of us figured it out you know it must be true."

"Guys, please. I can't think about this right now. Can we talk about this later…or you know, never?"

"Fine fine. You win…for now."

The three settled again for the increasingly long wait. Nearly two minutes of silence passed before Sunny interrupted.

"You never did answer me. What are you doing out here and not with Andi?"

Axle sighed and his shoulders slumped. "Ratchet and First Aid kicked me out."

The twins began cackling again and Axle knew then that he would just have to kill them to shut them up.

* * *

><p>It was now verging on 6 a.m. and Andi had resorted to solving increasingly complex math problems in her head while Ratchet and First Aid performed test after test and debated the outcomes. She had gone over both of her dreams in detail with them several times. They confirmed what she already suspected, that the occurrences happening within were factual.<p>

So far, not one of the tests performed came up irregular. Physiologically everything was normal. There wasn't a single abnormality in any of her systems. Excluding the symptoms she had been suffering from after her brush with the wall yesterday. Her blood test came back normal, and her nervous system was responding as it should. Her organs were intact and healthy, exactly as they had been before the accident. The only thing that seemed to have changed in the slightest showed on one of her brain scans. At the moment her brain functionality seemed to be up ever so slightly. It was this fact that Ratchet and First Aid were clinging to as it was the only change they could find.

Andi was less than enthusiastic. By this point, she was beyond tired. Her head was still pounding slightly, though now she suspected it was more from stress and fatigue than the events yesterday. She looked over to the two bots who were currently studying a screen divided into several brain scan images. If she listened carefully she could just make out what they were saying.

"I know brain function is up slightly, but we can't be positive it's resulting from anything the Shard did. It's not outside of human capability, just raised slightly." First Aid was saying.

Ratchet huffed in annoyance and crossed his arms in front of him. "We can't just disregard it though. It's the only change we have to go on. Humans are so fragile; their systems so inferior to our own that any little change could cause major damage."

Andi took offense at that and made her feelings known. "Hey! Lay off the talk of inferiority if you don't mind. It's not nice to talk about someone like that when they are sitting 20 feet away."

The two bots had jumped slightly when she spoke and spun to face her as if they hadn't expected her to interject. Then they stared, and continued to stare until Andi started fidgeting in her seat.

"What?" she asked. "What's wrong? Guys? Would you stop staring, please?"

They both stepped toward her then.

"You heard that?" Ratchet asked.

"What? Of course I could hear you, I'm like 20 feet away and you guys don't seem to understand the idea of whispering. Why?"

"What he meant was you could understand what we were saying?" First Aid added.

"Of course." Ratchet cursed and ran a hand over his face in frustration. "Why? What's wrong?"

"Andrea," First Aid knelt so he was closer to eye level for her. "We were not speaking English. We were speaking Cybertronian."

"…Oh." Her eyes widened in surprise. "That's…not normal."

"No, it's not."

* * *

><p>The new discovery of course set Ratchet and First Aid in a tizzy and led to another two hours of tests. Only this time Andi was a much more active participant. By the end of two hours, they found that she could fluently read and write Cybertronian and understand the spoken version of the language but not speak it. Though Ratchet claimed that this was due to the fact that human vocal chords simply could not form the necessary sounds.<p>

It was 8 a.m. now and the base had become crowded with active personnel, all who were banned from entering the lab at the moment. Human and bot alike were told to stay out (largely for Andi's benefit) or face Ratchet's wrath. Needless to say, they listened.

Finally, things seemed to be coming to a close. All three agreed to throw in the towel, that there was nothing else to find at the moment.

"So let me get this straight. Basically I've been turned into a glorified encyclopedia slash dictionary? And what, I'm just going to have to deal with the dreams? There's nothing you can do?"

"Correct. I'm sorry, Andrea, but at this time there is simply no way to reverse what was done." Ratchet apologized.

"Great," she sighed.

"It makes sense if you think about it," First Aid added. "The All Spark was the source of all life on Cybertron. It held the power to create and heal, but it also held our history. Everything it had absorbed and seen since the beginnings of time. But now, the Spark has been all but destroyed. This may have been a self-preservation attempt. Nobody really knows how the AllSpark works. What's to say it couldn't have chosen you to act as a keeper for our history?"

"Is it weird that I'm feeling honored and creeped out all at the same time?"

"After the night you had? No, I'd say that is a perfectly alright reaction to be having."

Her eyes widened in horror than as a sudden thought occurred. "I'm not going to start creating baby bots am I? The Shard didn't pass on any other tendencies to me did it?"

"No! No. You do not have to worry about that. The creation of bots requires a certain type of energy that you do not possess. There were no traces of it in your system." Ratchet reassured.

"You're sure?"

"Positive." He answered.

"Absolutely positive?"

"I am 98.78% positive."

For a millisecond she contemplated that lost 1.22%. "…Good enough. So now what?"

"We will need to inform Optimus and Lennox about the situation," Ratchet went to com his leader.

"Wait! Do we have to tell Will?" She asked anxiously.

"Of course. Why? You seem concerned."

"It's just that, well, I'm not sure how people would react to this. I mean, the military will want to do testing and stuff, won't they? I don't want to be a lab rat."

"You don't honestly believe that the Major would allow that to happen, do you?" First Aid asked, trying to reassure her.

"Well no. I guess we can tell him, but it has to be in private."

"Done."

* * *

><p>Several long minutes later Andi, Ratchet and First Aid successfully explained the situation to Optimus and Lennox. The Major seemed to be having a bit of trouble comprehending all that he had been told. "So let me get this straight, you're having some kind of prophetic dreams? And you can understand Cybertronian?"<p>

"Not prophetic, Will. More like historic. I'm dreaming about things that have already happened. And yes, apparently I'm now fluent in Cybertronian."

He took a minute to ponder her response. "…OK. I guess it's not the strangest thing that could happen considering who we work with. No offense, " he said looking at the bots around them.

Optimus shook his head. "None taken. This is extraordinary, Andrea. You are now holding a very important part of our society. Our history must be preserved so that others can learn from our past."

Andi nodded at Optimus and looked back to Will. "Now do you understand why I didn't want you to tell anyone? I really, really, don't want any of the government's scientists to decide and poke around in my head."

He snorted. "Don't be ridiculous. No one would experiment on you."

"Are you sure? No one knew about Sector Seven until 3 months ago. Look at all the experimenting they did."

That caused a momentary pause. "Ok, I get your point. We'll keep this between us for now, but eventually someone is going to notice. Can you even tell when they are speaking Cybertronian? Or does it all sound like English to you? What if you slip some day?"

She shrugged. "If that ever happens I'll tell them Axle has been teaching me. Everyone knows I'm an egghead."

"Alright. I guess that will have to do for now. We'll have to let the other Autobots know about this though so they can watch what language they speak around you. That should help prevent any problems for a while."

"Agreed. I will personally tell them to watch themselves," Optimus agreed.

"Alright, that works for me. You can tell Epps if you want. Or any of the others you really trust. Just make sure they don't tell anyone not in the club, ok?"

Will smirked at her description of N.E.S.T. It really was an exclusive club, wasn't it? "I'll only let Bobby know what is going on for now. We can let the others in on it later. What about you? You going to let anyone know?"

"Only Axle for now. As soon as Sam proves he can control his tendency to vomit out random information when he's nervous I'll contemplate telling him and the others."

Will chuckled. "Good. Now that that's settled. Go home. Get some rest. You've had a busy few days."

"No kidding. And it's not over yet. I've got to go to a bridal shower later today. My cousin is getting married this weekend and I'm one of her brides maids."

He cringed in sympathy. "Ouch. Have fun with that. I'll see you later, kid." He headed toward the exit. "Major?" He paused. "Will you send Axle in please? I'd go get him but well…" she glanced down at her lack of clothing. "I''d rather not flash anyone if I don't have to."

He laughed at her. "Sure." And then left.

Andi glanced up at Optimus and the others. "I'm sorry about this, Optimus. I know it would be better if one of you had this information I'm seeing. I'm not going to be around near as long as any of you."

"Do not fear, young one. This is a good thing. You may be much more of a help to us than you think. Can you not see the possibilities for growth between our people? You know us better now than we know ourselves. One day you may be the link between us."

The thought had actually not occurred to her. But now that she was hearing it, Andi didn't know how to feel. That was a lot of responsibility to be placed on her shoulders. As she was contemplating what this would mean for her future a knock sounded from the entrance to the lab and when she looked, Axle's head was peaking in through the doorway.

"Can I come in?" he asked softly.

Andi smiled reassuringly at him. "Hey, Axle. C'mon in." Axle slowly approached the bed and knelt so he was near eye level with her.

"Are you alright?" His voice was soft and concerned and his eyebrow plates were furrowed.

Andi smiled reassuringly at him and placed a hand on his cheek in comfort. "I'm ok, big guy. I'm sorry I worried you."

"What was wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong, not really. I'll explain everything on our way home, ok? We've got a party to get to in a few hours and I want to take a nap before then."

"You're sure you're ok to leave?" He was not going to let her get away with anything for a long time, she just knew it.

"Yup! Even Ratchet agrees."

"Alright, let's get you home." He nodded in thanks and farewell to his superiors and then transformed next to her bed before opening the driver's side door for her. "Your ride, m'lady."

Andi chuckled and headed towards him. He had been watching tv with the Twins again, she could tell. Before entering she smiled and waved to the others in the lab. "Thank you. We'll see you tomorrow." Then she sat, made herself comfortable and as Axle made his way out of the base began her explanation.

* * *

><p>AN: Now you have some idea of what is going on with Andi. This chapter has been re-written twice now. It was ready to post a week ago and then I re-read it and decided that there was simply not enough of the Twins in it. ^^ Originally it was Ironhide and Prowl distracting Axle but since they had a chance last time, I wanted to change it up a bit. That and I realized that where Ironhide goes Lennox goes and the man can't be on duty all day every day. So, hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think. The next chapter is finished and will be up on time! ^^ Until next time.<p> 


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Thanks so much to everyone who read and reviewed! Hope you enjoy!  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my own original characters and the plot of this story.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 6: Familial Responsibilities<strong>

Her nap upon arriving home was blessedly dream free. Of course it also lasted a lot longer than she wanted it to. Andi woke at 2pm to the sound of her mother yelling from the garage that she would meet her at the party and not to be late. Of course the party was set to start in 30 minutes and she still had to shower and dress. Obviously she was going to be late.

Racing to the bathroom she showered in record time, dried her hair and then ran around her room grabbing items of clothing as she went. Seeing that the party was set to start in 15 minutes and it would take 20 to get there if traffic cooperated, she ran down to the garage in her underwear and hoped into Axle's driver side while pulling a black tank top over her head.

"Let's go, Axle! You drive, I'll finish getting dressed." She rattled off the address and focused on her clothes.

"I can't believe I overslept. Mom's gonna kill me." Reaching into the pile of clothes in the passenger seat as Axle continued driving towards their destination, Andi pulled out a slightly wrinkled green shirt and pulled it on over the spaghetti strapped top she was currently wearing. She then pulled out a nice, dark washed pair of jeans. Carefully maneuvering herself, she was able to slip into the clean pair, all the while still seated in Axle. Finally, she pulled out a pair of decent heeled black ankle boots, the nicest pair of shoes she owned and slipped into them. Checking herself in the flip-down mirror, running a hand through her hair to make sure she looked alright, She was still fidgeting 30 minutes later when Axle came to a stop and parked in front of a large brick house.

"How do I look? Ok? Or like I just rolled out of bed?"

"You look fine, Andi. I'm detecting quite a few body signatures in the house, you should go."

"Lovely. Alright, I'm gonna try to leave as early as I possibly can, but I doubt that will be any time soon. So, if you want, you can head back home or to the base and come pick me up later."

"That's alright, Andi. I will wait for you here. Enjoy your party."

Andi snorted. "Not likely." She sighed as she exited Axle and patted his hood. "I'll be back as soon as I can."

* * *

><p>Entering the house, she was welcomed warmly. Smiling, she gave her cousin a hug and then joined her mother by the couch.<p>

Her mother raised an eyebrow in question, waiting for a reason for her lateness. Andi shrugged, having no excuse. Her mother then rolled her eyes and gestured for her daughter to sit down next to her. She did.

* * *

><p>It wouldn't end.<p>

She had been sitting on this damn couch for three hours making small talk with people she hardly knew and there was no end in sight. To make matters worse, from her seat, she had a perfect view out the front window of the house to the street where Axle was parked. Freedom was so close and yet oh so far away.

She flinched slightly as someone elbowed her in the side. Turning to her left, she glared at her mother who was frowning at her daughter. Leaning over, she whispered in Andi's ear.

"If I have to stay, you're going down with me."

Andi smiled then. It was nice knowing that her mother was suffering just as much as she was. Mrs. Hammond was all for supporting her niece, but not even she could keep a smile on her face after hours of making small talk with people who didn't even particularly like her.

After Andi's parents had started their software company and begun to make quite a bit of money, they had made it perfectly clear that there would be no mooching off of them from others in their family. They were happy to help with financial problems, but they refused to buy their siblings or their children any unnecessary extravagant items, specifically a boat for her uncle. They made it clear that much of their money was circulated back into the company, as well as given to charity. After this revelation, relations became a little stressed in the family. Personally she admired her parents for standing up to her family, and was proud of all they had done.

And yet, knowing that her mother wanted to leave just as badly as she did gave Andi a strange form of pleasure.

* * *

><p>One hour later, Andi was mentally running through the new code she wanted to write for the Autobots' base computers to improve productivity for the core processors when she realized that someone was attempting to get her attention. Turning to her left, she found her Aunt Rita and next to her, her Aunt May. The two women had finally managed to corner her alone. Andi had been both expecting this and dreading it. Her Aunts Rita and May were two of the worst busy bodies she knew.<p>

"So Andrea, how have you been? Your mother tells us that you have been busy lately. Doing what?"

"I'm good, Aunt Rita. I've been working a lot lately." She pasted a fake smile on her face.

"That's right, you were offered a job by the government, right? Some kind of computer something or other."

"Computer programming, Aunt May."

"And what does that entail?"

"I'm afraid that's all I can say about that, Aunt May. It classified, you understand." That should stop that line of questioning.

"Of course, dear. So you'll be heading to college soon. Where will you be going?"

That was a sensitive subject. Now that Andi had a full time job for the government which would be available to her for the foreseeable future, she felt there was little reason to go to college right away. It would be a waste of her time, taking away time from her work. She would be living on the base once it was finished, managing the Autobots' computer systems. There would be little time to go to classes and no way to get there.

However, her parents, who didn't know the details of her work with the government but knew that she would be moving out soon, refused to even hear any talk of not going to college. So, they had reached a compromise. Andi would take online and interactive classes until she achieved her Bachelor Degree in Computer Programming and Systems Analysis. She would be able to take the classes from home and the base, allowing Andi to still work as much as she needed.

Yet, knowing her Aunts she figured lying wouldn't hurt.

"Nevada University. I'll be double majoring in Computer Programming and Systems Analysis."

"That sounds nice. Are you excited?"

Andi refrained from rolling her eyes. _Everyone_ asked that question. "Yeah. I'm looking forward to it."

"That's good." The inane chatter continued on for some time until Rita and May were pulled away by Andi's cousin Lisa.

* * *

><p>Yet another hour later, and the party was <em>finally<em> coming to a close. Five hours. What kind of bridal shower lasted for _five hours_? All the food had been eaten, gifts had been given and opened, and conversations had slowly come to a close. The sun had set some time ago, and slowly but surely, the guests were trickling out the door.

Andi's eye searched out her mother and found her helping to clean. She waited until her mother turned towards her and then caught her eyes. A raised eyebrow was all she needed to relay her question. Her mother sighed, rolled her eyes and then nodded. Andi did a mental happy dance as she stood and made her way towards the front door, waving to her mother as she went. At the door, she gave her regards to her cousin and promised to see her in a few days at the wedding.

It took everything in her not to take off running towards Axle once she made it out the door.

* * *

><p>She sighed gratefully as she settled into the driver's seat.<p>

"Home, Jeeves."

"Who's Jeeves?"

Andi chuckled. "Nevermind, Axle. Let's just go home. I'm beat."

"Someone beat you?" He sounded frantic.

"No, Axe. I'm tired. Yeesh, we're gonna have to work some more on your understanding of human expressions. You've been here long enough, you should know those by now."

"There hasn't been much time for that, Andi."

Andi sighed and settled herself deeper into her seat. She rubbed Axle's steering wheel lightly. "You're telling me, big guy. I've barely had enough time to eat and sleep. We haven't had much time to sit back and relax have we?" She paused as she contemplated something. "Think we could request a little time off from Optimus? Personally, I'm in need of a little vacation. Maybe we could get away for a week or something."

"Where would you like to go?"

"I don't know. Northwest? Maybe the coast? Somewhere secluded enough that you'd be able to stretch your legs. What do you say?"

"That sounds nice, Andrea."

"Yeah, it really does."

Silence reigned for the rest of the trip home and by the time the two arrived, Andi was just about asleep. Axle woke her when they approached the driveway and she took notice that her father's car was in the garage. He must have arrived home from his business meeting while Andi and her mother were at the party.

Stepping out of Axle, she headed out of the garage towards the house. "I'll be back Axe, just want to say hello to Dad."

Stepping in the kitchen from the back door, Andi was met with the sight of her father routing around in the fridge. On the counter behind him was a loaf of bread, several different types of lunch meat and a jar of peanut butter. Upon her entrance, he turned to her, two jars of pickles and olives held in his hands.

"What, they don't feed you at those big corporate meetings?" she joked.

"Hey, kiddo!" He set the jars down and pulled her into a bear hug. "How was the party?"

"Hey, Dad." She returned the hug. "Well, I still have all my limbs and mom didn't kill anyone, so pretty good, I guess."

"That bad, huh?" Her dad chuckled as he released her.

"Next time I'll go to your meeting for you and you can be interrogated by the family."

"Yeah, no, I'll pass, thanks." He began assembling his sandwich. "Where's your mother?"

"She'll be home soon. She was helping to clean up when I left." She scrunched her nose up as she watched her dad spread the peanut butter on the bread and then stick several slices of pickles and olives on.

"Great." He finished his construction and took a giant bite out of the sandwich.

"Oh that's gross."

"Everyone's a critic." He shrugged in answer. "Want a bite?"

"No. No, thanks. I'll pass."

"Your loss." He leaned back against the counter as he continued eating.

"So how did the meeting go?"

"Fine. Boring. The usual. Unfortunately, it looks like your mother and I will be heading out of town again in a few days."

"What about the wedding?"

"We'll be there," he finished the last bite of his sandwich. "We'll have to leave that night, though. After the reception. You gonna be okay by yourself for a week or two?" He went to the sink and poured himself a glass of water.

"Of course. Always am." Her father frowned and Andi wondered why. "What's wrong?"

"It's just…you shouldn't have to be okay with that. Sometimes I feel like I've done wrong by you all these years. Leaving you here while your mother and I travel all over the place for work. It doesn't seem right."

"What? Dad, what are you talking about? I'm used to this. I understand how important your work is and I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"It's true work is important, but you know that you're so much more important than that, right? Nothing is more important than you. You know that right?"

"Of course, Dad. You've always been there when I needed you. I know you love me. What brought this on?"

Her dad sighed and rubbed his face with his hand. "I don't know. I think I'm just tired. And old. I've been thinking about retiring in a few years. Spending more time at home."

Andi smiled. "That would be nice, Dad. But don't do anything until you're ready, okay?" She walked over and gave her dad a hug and kissed his cheek. "In the meantime, get some rest. I'm gonna get to bed, too."

"Alright, sweetheart." He kissed her on the forehead. "Goodnight. I'll see you in the morning."

"Night, Dad." With that, Andi left her father in the kitchen with his own thoughts, and made her way to bed.

* * *

><p>Her dreams that night were overrun by warfare. Cybertron blazed red hot with fires that had overrun nearly half of the planet. Former friends and comrades turned on each other and bots fell left and right to the destruction. As each bot fell Andi was overcome with information. Name, classification, affiliation, personal history. The facts raced through her mind and she retained every piece of information she was given.<p>

For the next three nights her dreams focused on the war between the Deceptions and Autobots. After the first night she accepted the horrors that she witnessed as having already happened, therefore there was nothing that she could do to change the outcome. She braced herself every night before bed and woke every morning feeling saddened and tired. She never felt completely rested following a night full of high definition surround sound history. But she dealt with it as it came and kept Ratchet and Optimus updated on her condition.

Soon the weekend was upon her and the wedding she had been dreading for months now seemed like a blessed distraction.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: There you have it, a little look into Andi's personal life. The fun truly begins next chapter and I'm excited to get this fic moving along. The stage has been set so now the adventure can begin. It's my birthday on Monday and then the preparations for our Holiday festivities begin so this will probably be the last update until after the New Year. I might be able to post the next chapter before the 1st, we'll see. If I don't update until next year, I hope you all have wonderful holidays and a happy new year! <strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: I hope all of you had a very Merry Christmas or whatever other holiday you might celebrate and a Happy New Year! Mindless fun but crazy and I'm looking forward to starting over. Thank you for everyone's well wishes on my birthday they were very much appreciated! I apologize for the tardiness. This chapter gave me more problems than I'm willing to admit, heck it's still giving me problems I don't really like it. I've hit a bout of writers block and I really need your help. I need you guys to let me know what Decepticons you would like to see. I'm looking mostly for car forms but seekers are welcome as well. So shoot me a line and let me know if there's anyone you would like to see. Also following the new year, I caught the nasty cold going around and well…here we are now. **

**Enjoy!**

**PS. The link to Andi's dress in this chapter can be found on my profile page. I like to have a little reference when working. ^^**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but Andi and Axle. **

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><p><strong>Chapter 7: Torture Devices and Unwelcome Surprises<strong>

Andi knew going into this bridesmaid gig that she would have to wear a dress. That didn't mean that she had to enjoy it. As she worked on pulling the zipper up her back she tried to remember when the last time was that she wore a dress. She was pretty sure she had been five and that it had been a pink monstrosity that she ended up rolling around in mud in, destroying it completely. Her father thought it was amusing. Her mother did not. Needless to say she was never forced to wear another dress again.

Andi lived in jeans and T-shirts and she liked it that way. Comfort was her priority and dresses did not spell comfort to her. Not to mention the torture devices she moved to pull on her feet. The silver three-inch heels were definitely not designed for comfort. She had a feeling that her cousin had chosen them specifically for that fact; if she was going to be uncomfortable so to were her bridesmaids.

Finished putting her shoes on Andi moved towards her mirror. She checked her reflection to ensure that her carefully coiffed hair had not been damaged in the struggle to dress herself. Normally the bridesmaids would join the bride in preparing for the wedding. An impromptu phone call she received in the early morning had insured Andi could not join the party in the pre-wedding rituals. She had met the girls early at the salon for hair and makeup and then headed home to put on her dress and heels. Having reassured her cousin that she would not be late for the wedding, she now found herself rushing to ensure that she could keep that promise.

Glen had called her frantically that morning demanding that she give him a USB full of programs he needed for his newest assignment. Of course she had told him no, claiming that she had way too much to do that day. Then Glen, being the big ass baby that he was, had handed the phone off to Will who had pulled rank and demanded that she stopped by the base before the wedding. Apparently Glen had been ordered to do maintenance on Control' s computers while she was away; something she took slight offense at. That was her job and while she knew she'd been busy lately she was getting to it. And she told Will as much. He mollified her by explaining that one of the computers had started freezing this morning and were needed by that afternoon. So reluctantly she agreed and here she was rushing to leave the house, get to the base and then the wedding in time.

She inspected her hair, dress and makeup. Carefully adjusting a strand of hair here, a loose eyelash there, and fixing that one wrinkle left in the skirt of her dress. She took a step back then looked at her reflection. And though she was loath to admit it, she didn't hate the overall look. Her short hair had been curled slightly and pinned back with two gorgeous silver combs that her mother had given her for the occasion. The dress was a dark blue A-line tea length with a square neckline and thick straps. She had to admit the heels made her legs look pretty fantastic. It was a pain in the ass but in the end seemed to be worth all the trouble. A brief thought flashed through her mind. _I wonder if Axle will like it?_ She blushed then. _Stop it!_ She scolded. She would find out soon enough.

She glanced at her clock then cursed in frustration. She was going to be late if she didn't leave right now. She grabbed the USB from her desk and dashed downstairs to the garage where Axle was waiting patiently. Her parents had left some time ago, so she was not afraid to address him openly.

"So, what do you think?" She did a small twirl in order to give Axle the full effect.

"Gorgeous." It was said with such sincerity that Andi felt her face heat with yet another hot blush.

She ducked her head in embarrassment. "You're just saying that."

"I've always thought you were beautiful Andi."

She shook her head in denial. "Mikaela's beautiful. I'm pretty plain."

"Not to me." It was the nicest compliment anyone had ever given her. And it was the sweetest thing he had ever said her.

"Thanks," she mumbled. She brushed a stray hair out of her face trying to hide the fact that it was completely red. "Anyway, we should get going. We need to stop by the base before we go to the wedding. Don't want to be late." She walked towards the driver side door as Axle opened it for her. Sitting down carefully she adjusted her dress and strapped herself in before Axle took off down the driveway.

* * *

><p>Andi was dreading stepping foot outside of Axle and was seriously considering simply opening the window and tossing the USB out to Glen as she and Axle performed a drive-by. She was not looking forward to the jokes she was sure was heading her way. But duty called and Andi knew that they needed to get going otherwise she would surely be late for the wedding itself.<p>

"It'll be fine Andi nobody's going to say anything," Axle reassured as she took a deep breath in preparation.

"That's what you think," she grumbled as she fiddled with her skirt. "I can hear Sam snickering from here."

"Andrea," Axle huffed. He sounded exasperated and Andi knew that if he were in his bipedal form his optics would be rolling at her. "The longer you wait the later we're going to be. You look great, no one is going to say a thing." But still she refused to move. "Alright. You leave me no choice." With that, in a matter of seconds his seatbelt unlatched around her shoulders, his door opened, and he tilted forcing Andi to step out or else fall out.

Stumbling slightly she turned to him and glared hands planted on her hips. "Axle! That was uncalled for."

Axle transformed into his bipedal mode and shrugged at her. "We were going to be late. Now let's hand off that program and get going. Your cousin awaits."

Andi huffed again but nodded and turned to walk into Control. Just her luck it seemed that the entire base was on duty that day and that Sam and Mikaela had decided to join them as well. The young man saw her first and turned to greet her with a wave only to stumble over his greeting when he took in her appearance.

"Hey Andi! You… whoa!"

She glared at him and pointed finger as she scolded, "Not a word Samuel Archibold Witwicky."

Sam held up his hands as if warding off an attack. "Hey! I was just going to say that you looked good. I've never seen you in a dress before."

"And you never will again. I promise."

"Andi, you look fantastic." Mikeala walked towards her and examined the dress a little closer.

Will nodded as well. "You look good, kid."

"That's what I said," Axle said exasperatedly. "She won't listen."

Andi huffed at the two and then looked to Glen and tossed the USB towards him. She scowled and pointed at him next. "Everything you need should be on there. Don't you dare take any shortcuts. I _will_ be double checking everything when I get back."

"Hey, girl, this isn't my first rodeo. I got this." Andi nodded and turned back to the others.

"Now, if that's all I've got a wedding to get to. Come on Axle, let's go." With that she waved over her shoulder, entered the now transformed Axle and the two drove off.

* * *

><p>Andi flinched as her dance partner once again stepped on her toes. This particular groomsman was beyond uncoordinated. That and the ample amount of alcohol he had consumed was not helping. She sighed in relief as the song came to an end and gracefully bowed out of an invitation to continue dancing.<p>

The reception party was in full swing and had been for the last three hours. Dinner had been eaten and dessert had just been finished. Now the live band was engaged to play for another few hours. The sun had set some time ago and the outdoor reception was surrounded by a lit lanterns and fairy lights. Andi had to admit the space was lovely. The ceremony and reception was being held at a country club that her cousin and her new husband frequented often. The club was rather exclusive and at least an hour away from town. It was on private property and surrounded by dense trees, adding to the feel of desertion.

Andi winced once again as she felt her toe began to cramp. These damn shoes were crippling her. She bent over it and released the ties holding them. She sighed in relief as her bare feet met the ground. She was beyond tired and ready to go home.

Glancing around she took a moment to judge whether or not her presence would be missed. She immediately came to the conclusion that it would not. Everyone was on the dance floor and one less body would not be missed. Shoes in hand she made the executive decision and carefully crept away. The only people who would have missed her were her parents, and they had left a little over an hour before for their trip. As she quietly crept away she gasped when she very nearly turned a corner and ran into her two aunts. She dodged behind a nearby bush before they could see her. Deciding to avoid any further possible interceptions she took off across the lawn towards the parking lot where Axle was waiting.

She let the night air soothe her sore and tired body as she crossed over the fairway of hole six. Her shoes swinging from one hand and her bare toes grasping the grass below her she finally smiled genuinely for the first time that evening. This was better. She came across the parking lot soon enough and made her way to where Axle was parked at the far end, as far away from the other cars as possible. She could still hear the music in the distance, slightly muffled but still discernible.

She smiled widely as she greeted him. "Hey, Axle!"

"I wasn't expecting you back so early. I can still hear the music shouldn't you be there?" He greeted.

She grinned guiltily, "Nah. They're busy having a good time, they won't even know I'm gone."

"Did you not have a good time?" He asked curiously.

She chuckled slightly. "It's hard to have a very good time when your dance partner is always stepping on your toes. Let's just say I left for my own safety." She made her way over to Axle then and carefully climbed up onto his hood. Making herself comfortable she looked up at the sky. The stars were insanely bright this far away from the city. "I have to give my cousin props though. This place is beautiful."

"It is aesthetically pleasing is it not?"

Andi murmured in agreement. "You know, Axe, all this wedding shenanigans got me to thinking. Do Cybertronians get married?"

Axle seemed to ponder the question for a moment. "Yes, of a sort. We do not call it marriage. It is much _more_."

"More? How so?"

"We call it Sparkmates. When two of our people decide that they wish to be bond together, they perform a union of their sparks. It's an eternal bond. Unbreakable. When the sparks are bound there's a connection created. Sparkmates are known to be able to sense each other when they are near. They share feelings and thoughts."

"Wow. That sounds…intense. Does it happen often?"

"Not very. Bots are known to get into relationships, but Sparkmates happen much less frequently. It doesn't help that there are so few femmes in comparison to males."

Andi nodded in agreement. "I had noticed a suspicious lack of female bots in my dreams." She paused for a moment unsure she should ask the next question. "Do any of the team have a Sparkmate?" _Did you? _She silently wondered.

"Optimus does. So does Ironhide. They are the only two that I know of."

"Really? What happened to them? Where are they?"

"The last anyone heard from Elita-1 and Chromia they and a group of other femmes were still fighting on Cybertron. No one knows where they are now." He grew quiet.

Andi rubbed his hood comfortingly. "I shouldn't have asked. I'm sorry."

He rumbled under her touch. "You have nothing to apologize for. We retain hope that all of our lost comrades are alive and well and will one day find their way to our new home."

The two sat in comfortable silence for several minutes before Andi sat up and stretched. She yawned once before she began replacing her shoes. "Well, speaking of home, what do you say we head there ourselves?" Axle's engine roared to life in response and his driver side door opened for her. Andi grinned and entered him as carefully as she could, cursing her thrice damned dresses she did so. "Wish I had remembered to pack a change of clothes," she grumbled.

Axle merely laughed at her quietly as he proceeded to pull out and begin the hour-long drive home.

* * *

><p>Much of the trip was made in comfortable silence between the two, interspersed occasionally by quiet conversation. The radio was playing softly in the background. They were a little less than 30 minutes outside of town now, and Andi was very nearly falling asleep. Which was why when Axle accelerated quickly without warning, his tires squealing slightly that she gasped and jolted in her seat.<p>

"What the hell? Axle what's wrong?"

The radio shut off suddenly and Axle took a sudden turn to the left as he accelerated some more. He cursed quietly before tightening the seat belt around her. "Slag it! Where did they come from? Hold on Andrea!"

"Where did who come from?" She shouted back.

"Decepticons." He growled in response.

And as Andi glanced in his rearview mirror her insides clenched in fear because following them were three very fast, very menacing looking vehicles. Decepticons indeed.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Dun Dun Dun. Finally. And so the fun parts begin. I have to say that this was a pain in the ass get out. I had severe writer's block over break followed promptly by a bad cold. So now I need your help. Place your votes and let me know which Decepticons you would like to see in this fic. I'm looking for two more landform cons besides Barricade, or Frenzy. Or Starscream. Let me know. All recommendations are welcome and will be taken into consideration. Thanks! ^^<strong>


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